Restaurants, grocery stores have 'local' on the menu

Trend raises question: How near is 'local'?

10:08 PM,
Sep. 7, 2013

Suman Hoque, owner and chef at HoQ Restaurant in Des Moines' East Village, has a menu showcasing products from 40 nearby farms. 'When people come in on a weekend, I can tell them my whole menu, what is all in there and where it comes from,' he said.

Written by

Christopher Doering | | Gannett Washington Bureau

Growing up in Bangladesh, 8-year-old Suman Hoque and his dad would venture out around 8 o'clock each morning to the local market, loading their baskets with fresh fish, spinach, tomatoes and other groceries the family would eat later that day.

Hoque, now 32, is the owner of the trendy HoQ Restaurant in Des Moines' East Village, where he has embraced freshness as the central ingredient at his establishment, which features a menu showcasing local products from 40 nearby farms.

The demand from restaurants such as HoQ, grocery stores, schools and everyday consumers nationwide to buy and serve ...